Camera capable of communicating with other communication device

ABSTRACT

A camera having communication ability can switch a mode between a communication mode and a shooting mode. The camera combines features of a communication device and a digital camera. The camera comprises a communication device, an imaging device, and a switching device. The switching device switches the communication mode to the shooting mode responsive to completion of communication.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims priority of Japanese PatentApplication No. 10-329231 filed on Nov. 19, 1998, and No. 10-329232filed on Nov. 19, 1998, and No. 11-323883 filed on Nov. 15, 1999, thecontents being incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a camera having communication ability.More specifically, the present invention relates to a digital stillcamera, a silver-halide camera and a video camera that are able tocommunicate with another communication device.

BACKGROUND ART

A digital camera having communication ability that has the function of adigital camera and a cellar phone has previously been proposed.

A cellar phone having a technique for announcing an incoming call by asound, or by vibration has been known.

However, as for the digital camera having communication ability(hereafter called “a communication camera”), when a user tries to shoota picture after communication, the problem of losing a chance forshooting a picture arises because operation to switch to pictureshooting from communication is complex. On the other hand, when the userreceives an incoming call from another communication device duringpicture shooting, the problem of difficulty in starting thecommunication immediately arises because operation of switching tocommunication from picture shooting is complex.

Furthermore, as for the communication camera announcing the incomingcall by vibration, when the user receives the incoming call from anothercommunication device during shooting a picture, the problem ofcamera-shake caused by the vibration arises, resulting in a blurredpicture.

Furthermore, as for the communication camera announcing the incomingcall by a sound, when the user receives the incoming call from anothercommunication device during film shooting and audio recording, theproblem that the sound of the incoming call is unnecessarily recorded ona medium arises.

Thus, there is a need for a camera having communication ability thatswitches a mode quickly between a communication mode and a shootingmode. Furthermore, a camera having communication ability should notreceive bad influence from vibration and the sound that announces anincoming call.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera, havingcommunication ability, which can switch a mode adequately and easilybetween a communication mode and a shooting mode.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a camera,having communication ability and ability of announcing an incoming callby vibration, which does not receives bad influence from the vibration.

Furthermore, it is another object of the present invention to provide acamera, having communication ability and ability of announcing anincoming call by a sound, which does not receives bad influence of thesound of the incoming call during recording in shooting.

Objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention with a camerahaving communication ability, including a communication device tocommunicate with another communication apparatus; an imaging device toconvert an object to an electronic image; and a switching device toswitch a mode between a communication mode, in which communication isperformed by said communication device, and a shooting mode, in whichshooting is performed by said imaging mode; wherein said switchingdevice switches said communication mode to said shooting mode responsiveto completion of communication at said communication mode.

Furthermore, objects and advantages of the present invention areachieved in accordance with embodiments of the present invention with acamera having communication ability, including a communication device tocommunicate with another communication apparatus; an imaging device toconvert an object to an electronic image; and a switching device toswitch a mode between a communication mode, in which communication isperformed by said communication device, and a shooting mode, in whichshooting is performed by said imaging mode; wherein said switchingdevice switches said shooting mode to said communication mode responsiveto completion of shooting at said shooting mode.

Furthermore, objects and advantages of the present invention areachieved in accordance with embodiments of the present invention with acamera having communication ability, including a communication device tocommunicate with another communication apparatus; an imaging device toconvert an object to an electronic image; and a control device tocontrol to store a signal transmitted from other communication deviceduring shooting by said imaging device.

Furthermore, objects and advantages of the present invention areachieved in accordance with embodiments of the present invention with acamera having communication ability, including a communication device tocommunicate with another communication apparatus; an imaging device toconvert an object to an electronic image; and a control device tocontrol said communication device to transmit a message to a caller uponreceiving a communication from the caller during shooting by saidimaging device.

Furthermore, objects and advantages of the present invention areachieved in accordance with embodiments of the present invention with acamera having communication ability, including a communication device tocommunicate with another communication apparatus; an announcing deviceto announce an incoming call, which comes from another communicationdevice, to a camera user by a plural of announcing ways; an imagingdevice to convert an object to an electronic image; a detecting deviceto detect a state of the camera; a switching device to switch saidannouncing way of the incoming call responsive to the state of thecamera detected by said detecting device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external view of a communication camera illustrating anoutside of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the communication camera illustrating aconstruction of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that shows controls performed by a CPU of thecommunication camera in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart that shows controls performed in step S10 andstep S18 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart that shows controls performed by a CPU of thecommunication camera in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

A first embodiment of the camera according to this invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an external view of acommunication camera illustrating an outside of an embodiment accordingto the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a communication camera 1 comprises an optical lens2, a loudspeaker 3, a monitor 4, a start button 5, an “Yes” button 6, a“No” button 7, a dial button group 8, a mode switch button group 9, amicrophone 10, and an antenna 11.

The optical lens 2 forms an object image on an imaging element 201,which will be described later, which is capable of rotating 180 degrees.The loudspeaker 3 converts an electronic signal to sound. The monitor 4is formed of a device such as a LCD, and displays image information,textual information and other various information.

The start button 5 starts recording various information by setting themode switch button group 9. The “Yes” button 6 and the “No button” 7 arebuttons for operator to instruct the communication camera 1 responsiveto an announcement from the communication camera 1. The dial buttongroup 8 is for inputting a telephone number.

The mode switch button group 9 sets power source, communication mode,still video mode, moving video mode and sound record mode. Themicrophone 10 converts a sound to an electric signal. The antenna 11transmits and receives radio waves

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the communication camera 1 illustrating theconstruction of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the communication camera 1 comprises an imagingelement 201, an imaging processing circuit 202, a frame memory 203, acompressing expanding circuit 204, a flash memory 205, a microphonecircuit 206, a sound processing circuit 207, a loudspeaker circuit 208,a CPU 209, a display circuit 210, a switch circuit 211, a vibrationcircuit 212, and a telephone circuit 213.

The imaging element 201, which is a photoelectric conversion elementsuch as a CCD, output an object image signal as image data.

The image processing circuit 202 performs various image processing forthe image data output from the imaging element 201.

The frame memory 203 is a volatile semiconductor memory that stores,temporarily, image data processed by image processing, and sound data.

The compressing expanding circuit 204 compresses and expands image dataand sound data.

The flash memory 205 is a nonvolatile memory that stores image data andsound data.

The microphone circuit 206 drives the microphone 10.

The sound processing circuit 207 performs various processing for sounddata input into microphone 10. The loudspeaker circuit 208 drives theloudspeaker 3.

The CPU 209 is electrically connected to circuits of the communicationcamera 1 and performs all controls of the communication camera 1. TheCPU 209 comprises the timer, and the memory in which various guides,which are announced to the user, are stored in advance.

The display circuit 210 drives the monitor 4. The switch circuit 211transmits the data of operational states of switches and buttons to theCPU 209.

The vibration circuit 212 announces an incoming call to the user byvibrating the communication camera 1.

The telephone circuit 213 performs telephone functions that aretransmitting and receiving information.

The controls performed by the CPU 209 of the communication camera 1 willbe explained in details referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that shows controls performed by the CPU 209 ofthe communication camera 1 in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

The present flowchart starts when the user receives an incoming callsent from a caller.

In step S1, it is determined whether or not the mode chosen by the modeswitch button group 9 is a still image shooting mode. If it isdetermined that the mode chosen by the mode switch button group 9 is thestill image shooting mode, then the process advances to step S2. If themode chosen by the mode switch button 9 is not the still image shootingmode, then the process advances to step S11.

In step S2, announcing the incoming call by vibration or displaying isprohibited, and the announcement of the incoming call by a sound isperformed, announcing to the caller with voice. Since composition of apicture is important in a still picture, the announcement by displayingthe message is prohibited to avoid causing the picture displayed on themonitor 4 to be hidden partly behind the displayed message. However, ifit is allowed that the picture is hidden, the announcement by displayingthe message is usable.

In step S3, the voice message of whether to interrupt shooting or not,or the voice message of whether to interrupt recording or not, is readbut from the memory in the CPU 209 and is output through the loudspeaker3.

In step S4, it is determined whether or not the “YES” 6 button ispressed. If it is determined that the “YES” button 6 is pressed, thenthe process advances to step S5. If the “YES” button 6 is not pressed,the process advances to step S8.

In step S5, the current mode is switched from the shooting mode or thesound record mode to the communication mode, resulting in thecommunication with the caller.

In step S6, it is determined whether or not the communication iscompleted. If it is determined that the communication is completed, thenthe process advances to step S7. If the communication is not completed,step S6 is repeated until the completion of the communication isdetermined.

In step S7, the mode is returned to the shooting mode or the soundrecord mode.

In step S8, subsequent to step S4 in which it is determined that the“YES” button 6 is not pressed, it is determined whether or not the “No”button 7 is pressed. If it is determined that the “No” button 7 ispressed, then the process advances to step S10. If the “No” button 7 isnot pressed, the process advances to step S9.

In step S9, it is determined whether or not the timer of the CPU 209measures 10 seconds after the incoming call is received. If it isdetermined that the timer measures 10 seconds after the incoming call isreceived, then the process advances to step S10. If the timer does notmeasure 10 seconds, then the process returns to step S3.

In step S11, the flow shown in FIG. 4 is performed.

In step S11, subsequent to step S1 in which it is determined that themode is not the shooting mode, it is determined whether or not the modeis one of the moving video mode and sound record mode. If it isdetermined that the mode is one of the moving video mode and soundrecord mode, then the process advances to step S12. If the mode is notone of the moving video mode and sound record mode, the process advancesto step S19.

In step S12, it is determined whether or not shooting or sound recordingis performed in the moving video mode or the sound record mode. If it isdetermined that shooting or sound recording is performed in the movingvideo mode or the sound record mode, then the process advances to stepS13. If shooting or sound recording is not performed, the processreturns to step S2.

In step S13, the announcement by vibration or voice is prohibited, andthe incoming call is indicated on the monitor 4, and then the caller'sname or information specifying the caller is indicated on the monitor 4.

In step S14, the indication of whether to communicate with the caller byinterrupting shooting or recording, is read out from the memory of theCPU 209 and displayed on the monitor 4.

In step S15, it is determined whether or not the start button 5 ispressed. If it is determined that the start button 5 is pressed, thenthe process advances to step S5. If the start button 5 is not pressed,the process advances to step S16.

In step S16, it is determined whether or not the “No” button 7 ispressed. If it is determined that the “No” button 7 is pressed, then theprocess advances to step S18. If the “No” button 7 is not pressed, theprocess advances to step S17.

In step S17, it is determined whether or not the timer of the CPU 209measures 10 seconds after the incoming call is received. If it isdetermined that the timer of the CPU 209 measures 10 seconds after theincoming call is generated, then the process advances to step S18. Ifthe timer of the CPU 209 does not measure 10 seconds, the processreturns to step S 14.

In step S 18, the flow shown in FIG. 4 is performed. In step S19, theannouncement of the incoming call is performed by vibration, sound, orindication, and the caller's name or information identifying the calleris announced, because it is determined that the mode chosen by the modeswitch button 9 is not the still video mode in step S1, and it isdetermined that the mode is not one of the moving video mode and thesound record mode in step S11. In step S 20, the communication starts.

In step S 21, it is determined whether or not the communication isfinished. If it is determined that the communication is finished, thenthe present flow is completed. If the communication is not completed,the process returns to step S 20, and the communication continues.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart that shows controls performed in step S10 andstep S18 in FIG. 3.

In step S201, it is transmitted to the caller that the user is not ableto communicate with the caller and waiting for the caller's message.

In step S202, when the caller sends the message to the user, thecaller's telephone number and the caller's message are recorded. Themessage can be stored in the memory of the communication camera 1, or inthe predetermined memory at the telephone company.

In step S203, it is determined whether or not the mode is switched tothe communication mode from the shooting mode. If it is determined thatthe mode is switched to the communication mode, then the processadvances to step S204. If the mode is not switched to the communicationmode, determination that the mode is switched to the communication modefrom the shooting mode is repeated.

In step S204, it is determined whether or not the caller's message isrecorded. If it is determined that the caller's message is recorded,then the process advances to step S205. If the caller's message is notrecorded, the process advances to step S210.

In step S205, it is asked whether or not to listen to the message byvoice or displayed indication.

In step S206, it is determined whether or not the “Yes” button 6 ispressed. If it is determined that the “Yes” button 6 is pressed, thenthe process advances to step S207. If the “Yes” button 6 is not pressed,the process advances to step S208.

In step S207, the recorded message is reproduced and the process iscompleted.

In step S208, subsequent to step S206 in which it is determined that the“Yes” button 6 is not pressed, it is determined whether or not the “No”button 7 is pressed. If it is determined that the “No” button 7 ispressed, then the present flow is completed. If the “No” button 7 is notpressed, the process advances to step S209.

In step S205, it is determined whether or not the timer measures 10seconds after the message is listened or transmitted to the caller. Ifit is determined that the timer measures 10 seconds after the message islistened or announced, then the present flow is completed. If the timerdoes not measure 10 seconds, the process returns to step S206.

In step S210, it is announced, by the voice or the displayed indication,whether or not to telephone the caller.

In step S211, it is determined whether or not the “Yes” button 6 ispressed. If it is determined that the “Yes” button 6 is pressed, thenthe process advances to step S212. If the “Yes” button 6 is not pressed,the process advances to step S214.

In step S212, the recorded telephone number is dialed.

In step S213, the communication starts.

In step S214, it is determined whether or not the communication iscompleted. If it is determined that the communication is completed, thenthe present flow is completed. If communication is not completed, theprocess returns to step S213, and the communication continues.

In step S215, subsequent to step S211 in which it is determined that the“Yes” button 6 is not pressed, it is determined whether or not the “No”button 7 is pressed. If it is determined that the “No” button 7 ispressed, then the present flow is completed. If the “No” button 7 is notpressed, the process advances to step S216.

In step S216, it is determined whether or not the timer measures 10seconds after the user telephones the caller or transmits the message tothe caller. If it is determined that the timer measures 10 seconds afterthe user telephones the caller or transmits the message to the caller,then the present flow is completed. If the timer does not measure 10seconds, the process returns to step 211.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the exposed picture doesnot become blurred by camera-shake, because the announcement of theincoming call by vibration is prohibited during the shooting time of thestill picture, the standby time for the still picture and the standbytime for the moving picture. Furthermore, in the case of moving picture,the exposed picture does not become blurred due to camera-shake, and thecommunication camera does not record the sound of the incoming call,because the announcement of the incoming call by vibration or sound isprohibited during shooting.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present the invention, the user canstart shooting at once after completion of communication, because themode is switched to the shooting mode immediately responsive to thecompletion of the communication while the mode is the communicationmode.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, when the incomingcall is announced during shooting, by stopping shooting, the user canswitches the mode to the communication mode, thereby startingcommunication immediately.

Furthermore, when the communication camera receives the message duringshooting, by sending the caller the message automatically that the usercan not correspond to the caller, the user can send the user's state tothe caller without interrupting shooting.

Furthermore, when the communication camera receives the message duringshooting, by storing caller's telephone number automatically, the usercan telephone the caller immediately after the completion of theshooting.

Furthermore, when the communication camera receives the message duringshooting, by storing the caller's message, the user can learn thecaller's message without interrupting the shooting.

Furthermore, the user can shoot as soon as he finishes the communicationbecause the mode is switched to the shooting mode responsive to thecompletion of communication. Therefore, the user does not loose ashooting chance.

Furthermore, by storing a signal from another communication deviceduring shooting, the signal from another communication device can bestored in the memory of the communication camera without interruptingshooting.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention, by changing the announcing method of the incoming callaccording to a state of the communication camera, exposed image datadoes not receive bad influences from the incoming call announcement.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of the camera according to this invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing theoperation of CPU 209 in the second embodiment. The explanation of thecamera construction is omitted here because the camera construction inthe second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 starts when the camera 1 receives a signalsent from other communication device in the case where the incoming callannouncement by vibration is set in the camera 1.

In step S301, by detecting an operation state of the start button 5 andthe imaging element 201, it is determined whether or not the camera 1 isin the shooting state. If the start button 5 is fully depressed tosubject the imaging element 201 to light or the imaging element 201 issubjected to light responsive to fully depressing of the start button 5,then it is determined that the camera 1 is in the shooting state, andthe process advances to step S302. If the start button 5 is not fullydepressed and the imaging element 201 is not subjected to light, then itis determined that the camera 1 is not in the shooting state, and theprocess advances to step S308.

In step S302, the incoming call announcement by vibration is preventedby stopping the vibration circuit 212. The process advances to step S303after completion of the process in step S302.

In step S303, after it is detected which announcing means is set to thecamera 1, either the announcing means except vibration or the defaultannouncing means is performed. For example, if the announcing means setto the camera 1 is sound or vibration, then the incoming callannouncement only by sound is started. If the announcing means set tothe camera 1 is only vibration, then the incoming call announcement bythe default announcing means except vibration is started. If the defaultannouncing means is sound or voice, the incoming call announcement bysound or voice is started, and if the default announcing means is thedisplay on the monitor 4, the incoming call announcement by the displayis started. Then, the process advances to step S304.

In step S304, by detecting an operation state of the start button 5 andthe imaging element 201, it is determined whether or not the camera 1has shot the picture. If the start button 5 is not fully depressed andthe imaging element 201 is not subjected to light, then it is determinedthat the camera 1 has shot the picture, and the process advances to stepS305. If the start button 5 is fully depressed or the imaging element201 is subjected to light, then it is determined that the camera 1 is inthe shooting state, and the process waits completion of shooting in stepS304.

In step S305, by permitting the vibration circuit 212 to be driven, theincoming call announcement by vibration is allowed. Then, the processadvances to step S306 after completion of the process in step S305.

In step S306, it is determined whether or not the incoming callannouncement, which has been started in step S303, continues aftercompletion of shooting. If the incoming call announcement continues,then the process advances to step S307. If the incoming callannouncement has already completed, then the present flow finishes.

In step S307, the vibration circuit 212 is driven, and the incoming callannouncement by vibration is started. Regarding the incoming callannouncement by means except vibration, started in step S303, it isacceptable to finish the incoming call announcement by means exceptvibration when the incoming call announcement by vibration starts, or itis also acceptable to continue the incoming call by means exceptvibration. When the process in step S307 is completed, the present flowends. If it is determined that the camera 1 is not in the shooting statein step S301, then the process advances to step S308.

In step S308, the vibration circuit 212 is driven, and the incoming callannouncement by vibration is started. Furthermore, it is detected whichannouncing means is set to the camera 1. If the incoming callannouncement by means except vibration is set, the incoming callannouncement by means except vibration is also started. After completionof the process in step S308, the process advances to step S309.

In step S309, the operation of the start button 5 is made ineffective.If the start button 5 is turned on, the imaging means does not record.The process advances to step S310 after completion of the process instep S309.

In step S310, it is determined whether or not the incoming, callannouncement by vibration, which is started in step S308, is finished.If the incoming call announcement is finished, then the process advancesto step S311. If the incoming call announcement is not finished, thenthe process waits in step S310.

In step S311, the start button 5 is made effective, and by turning thestart button 5 on, it becomes possible to shoot. The present flow endswhen the process in step S311 has finished.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention, it is determined whether or not the camera 1 is in theshooting state upon receiving an incoming call. If the camera 1 is inthe shooting state, then the incoming call announcement by vibration isprevented. Therefore, camera-shake does not occur. If the camera 1 isnot in the shooting state, then it is possible to perform the incomingcall announcement every time, even in the standby state of shooting.

Furthermore, since operation of the start button 5 is made ineffectivewhile incoming call announcement by vibration continues, it is possibleto avoid camera-shake by the vibration.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, since it is determined whether ornot the camera 1 is in the shooting state upon receiving the incomingcall, the present invention is applicable to a type of camera that cancommunicate or shoot without changing the operation mode

As for determination of the state of the shooting operation, in thesecond embodiment, it is determined whether or not the start button 5 isfully depressed so that the imaging element 201 is subjected to light.However, the present invention is not limited to the determination asdescribed in the second embodiment. It is possible to determine thestate of the shooting operation by determining whether or not the startbutton 5 is lightly pressed. In this case, the light press of the startbutton 5 performs focussing and metering operations, which arepreliminary operations of shooting.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, bymaking the operation of the start button 5 ineffective during theincoming call announcement by vibration, the camera 1 controls theshooting using the imaging element 201 to be prevented. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the control, during the incomingcall announcement by vibration, as described in the second embodiment.While the incoming call announcement by vibration is performed, it ispossible to control the shooting such that an imaging signal is notoutput from the imaging element 201, or is not input into the flashmemory 205.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, thecamera 1 controls the shooting using the imaging element 201 to beprevented during the incoming call announcement by vibration. However,it is desirable that the shooting using the imaging element 201 ispossible when an event or accident that must be recorded at once occurseven during the incoming call announcement by vibration.

Accordingly, in the case where the start button 5 is turned on duringthe incoming call announcement by vibration, it is possible to allow thecamera 1 to shoot after announcing a warning that an exposed imagebecome blur because of camera-shake.

Furthermore, it is possible to allow the camera 1 to shoot only when thecombined operation of the start button 5 and other specific operatingmember is performed, even during the incoming call announcement byvibration. Furthermore, it is also possible to have a mode wherein thestart button 5 is set effective even during the incoming callannouncement by vibration. Furthermore, it is also possible to have anoperation member such that the incoming call announcement is removedwhen the user wants to stop the shooting during the incoming callannouncement by vibration.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, theincoming call announcement is prevented during the shooting operation,assuming that shooting is performed without recording sound. However, inthe case of the apparatus able to shoot and record sound at the sametime, such as a camcorder, it is possible to prevent not only theincoming call announce by vibration but also the incoming call announceby sound or voice.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention, by changing the control of the imaging means, it is possiblefor the user to avoid receiving bad influence to the imaging data.

Although the present embodiment is explained on a digital camera capableof shooting both of a still picture and a moving picture, it is alsoapplicable to a digital camera only for a still picture. And also, it isapplicable to a silver-halide camera.

1. A camera capable of communicating with another communication device,comprising: a communication device to communicate with anothercommunication apparatus; an imaging device to convert an object to anelectronic image signal; and a switching device to switch a mode betweena communication mode in which communication is performed by saidcommunication device, and a shooting mode in which shooting is performedby said imaging device; wherein said switching device switches saidcommunication mode to said shooting mode responsive to completion ofcommunication in said communication mode.
 2. A camera capable ofcommunicating with another communication device, comprising: acommunication device to communicate with another communicationapparatus; an imaging device to convert an object to an electronic imagesignal; and a switching device to switch a mode between a communicationmode in which communication is performed by said communication device,and a shooting mode in which shooting is performed by said imagingdevice; wherein said switching device switches said shooting mode tosaid communication mode responsive to completion of shooting in saidshooting mode.
 3. A camera capable of communicating with anothercommunication device, comprising: a communication device to communicatewith another communication apparatus; an imaging device to convert anobject to an electronic image signal; and a control device to controlthe camera to store a signal transmitted from another communicationdevice during shooting with said imaging device.
 4. A camera capable ofcommunicating with another communication device, comprising: acommunication device to communicate with another communicationapparatus; an imaging device to convert an object to an electronic imagesignal; and a control device to control said communication device totransmit a message to a caller upon receiving a communication from thecaller during shooting with said imaging device.